(A/N: For those of you who don't know, Kinecelerans are XLR8's species and Citrakayah are Fasttrack's species. I'm sure there are some of you who knew this already, it's just for the people who don't know or simply forgot.

I just want to clarify something: this is not a story on which species is better, even though I'm already sure which one you guys would choose if that's what I did. Also, I don't care if you hate him or not, but I really like Fasttrack, I don't consider him to be boring or a nuisance like I'm sure most of you view him. I still like XLR8 more than him, but I still think that he deserves a little more love or less hate at the very least. Hating a character just because they're similar to another just isn't right.)

V-V-V~0-o-0~V-V-V

"Come on, we're going to be late!" a Kineceleran teenage girl called out to her family.

"Relax honey, they're not planning to eat for another hour," her mother calmly assured her as she put on a silver-chain necklace. She admired how it looked with the dress she wore in a mirror.

Her father came out of the bathroom, tightening his tie, "Your Mom's right, sweetie, we might be Kinecelerans, but there's no reason to be in such a rush."

"'No reason to be in such a rush?' Are you even a Kineceleran?!" her younger brother jeered as he came running down the stairs of their home.

"You watch your tone, mister," their father warned. He snorted and was about to go back upstairs, but he grabbed his arm before he could move a foot, "Your old man still has a lot in him."

His sister grabbed his wrist and yanked him away from their father. "You better not start acting a brat while we're there, runt!" she threatened through gritted teeth, her fist clenched.

He nodded vigorously and sped up the stairs of their two-story apartment. He came back down seconds later wearing an Iron Maiden shirt and tattered jeans.

"Did you brush your teeth?" their mother asked, her tone sounding very expected yet slightly playful.

He groaned and went back upstairs, coming back down just a couple of seconds later. Water spots were lightly splattered all over his shirt.

"Are we ready to go?" their father asked.

"Yes, I believe so, PTR," his wife replied.

He smiled at his beautiful spouse, "Good to know, LN-R."

"Let's go then!" their daughter shouted, her hand on the doorknob.

Her brother stood near her, "And stop being so cheesy!"

They went up to their children and they both smiled down at their cocky son. "In time you won't think of it as 'cheesy' at all," she told him.

"She's right, RY-N," he winked at him.

His facial expression was one of shock and fluster. He quickly turned back to his sister, "Come on, NTL-E, let's open the door and leave!"

She shrugged, "Okay," and opened the door.

Once out of their home, they ran through the community in Undertown they lived in. Running past groups of children, who ran as fast as they did as they played games in the streets. Most of the children they passed were Kinecelerans like them, but some were Citrakayah, a species that had enhanced speed just as them, but they were slightly slower yet physically stronger than them.

The community they lived in was known locally as Hermelocity. Although it was populated by various species, the majority were Kinecelerans and Citrakayah.

For a long time, many believed the two species were at odds with one another, this was true in some cases, but not always. In truth, they actually get along quite well, although there is still occasional discrimination on both sides, many have been able to look past their differences. At one point in history there were wars between them, the outcome has been lost to time, all that could be said was that there was a drastic reduction in numbers on both sides.

It didn't take them long to reach their final destination. It was a two-story apartment similar to the one they lived in, though the complex where it was at was slightly older than the one they lived at.

NTL-E knocked on the door of the flat they stopped in front of. A young male Citrakayah in his mid-to-late teenage years answered it. He was slightly muscled yet slim and the dark fur around his forearms was longer than most of his race, it dangled down to his wrists like tassels. He wore a creamy malachite oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows over a plain white t-shirt.

He at first looked at them in confusion, then smiled when he saw a familiar face. NTL-E threw her arms around him and squealed lightly, "Dusty! It's been so long!"

He returned the embrace, "It sure has, it sure has." She kissed his cheek and he tittered.

They broke apart and she gave a light giggle to her family before turning back to him, "You remember my parents and brother, right?"

"Yup," he waved to them, "nice to see you guys again." He then apologized to her, "Sorry I haven't been calling, my sister's babysitter got sick so I've been looking after her."

"I get it, it's no big deal," she reassured.

"Yeah, that 'why hasn't he called me?' incident last week was totally not a melt down," RY-N muttered sarcastically to himself.

He moved aside and beckoned them to enter, "Please, come in."

Just as they did, a Citrakayah woman walked into the room holding a baby and adjusting her sweater. The fur on the back of her head was long enough to be pulled back into a loose braid, the tips of the "fins" around her eyes were long enough to frame her face, and she had the same dangling fur as he did. The sweater she wore was pink with gold buttons.

She noticed them as they walked in, "Oh! Hello, NTL-E and this must be your family?"

Her mother nodded, "I'm LN-R and this is my husband PTR and our son RY-N."

"I'm Pearl, Dusty's mother." She came up to her son and asked, "Can you put Mazey down for a nap?"

"Sure," he replied. He took his baby sister from his mother and rushed upstairs.

She shook hands with them and laughed in a similar way to her son, "Sorry about that, I've been busy with cleaning the place and taking care of my daughter. I haven't gotten started on much of the food. My husband should be back here soon, so just make yourselves comfortable."

"Do you need help with the cooking?" LN-R asked.

"If you would like to help, you can," she nodded.

They went into the kitchen and Pearl melted a stick of butter in a pan. Once it was melted she added a spoonful of bouillon paste and a sprinkle of paprika into the hot liquid.

"Can you chop up those vegetables for me?" she asked.

"Yes, I can," she replied and got to work with that.

Meanwhile, PTR and RY-N were watching TV in the living room. Dusty came back downstairs and was talking with NTL-E. A few minutes into watching a wrestling match between a Tetramand and a Loboan, RY-N got up to go get a drink of water.

Pearl noticed him as he walked into the kitchen and smiled, "RY-N, how old are you?"

"Ten," he replied, getting water from the refrigerator.

"You're the same age as my middle child, Smokey," she told him.

"I thought it was a little quiet around here. Where is Smokey anyway?" NTL-E asked.

"He left with his father to get stuff at the market," she responded. She looked at the clock on the stove, "They should be-" there was a knock at the door, "back any second now."

"I'll get it," Dusty went over to the door and answered it.

A Citrakayah man and child walked inside carrying large paper bags full of various items. The man was well into the six-foot range and, unlike his wife and eldest son, his fur looked much shorter and perhaps coarse. His feline features were also more pronounced than theirs. The child was around RY-N's height and his fur was short like his father's, but it didn't appear to be coarse, it looked much closer to his brother's fur if anything. His feline features were also more pronounced like his father's, but his were much softer like his mother's. He also had the same dangling fur his mother and brother had.

"Mom, we're home!" their youngest son shouted as he and his father placed the bags on the table.

"I think she knows, son," his father told him.

His expression went bitter when he saw NTL-E's family. He then rushed upstairs without saying a word to anybody.

"What's his problem?" RY-N asked.

"He tried to become friends with some Kinecelerans at his school, but they beat him up and laughed at him instead. He thinks that all Kinecelerans are jerks and, as far as I know, NTL-E is the only one he trusts," Dusty explained, while helping his father put some of the items away.

"That's not a good way to view others," PTR pointed out. "Do any of his teachers know?"

His father shook his head, "Most of his teachers are Kinecelerans and he's afraid to ask."

Wanting to change the subject, he decided to introduce himself and his family, "I'm PTR by the way, NTL-E's father. This is my son RY-N and that's my wife LN-R."

They shook hands and he also introduced himself, "I'm Ash and of course you already know my wife and kids."

'Ash, Pearl, Dusty, Smokey, Mazey? Are they just named after random stuff?' RY-N thought sarcastically.

After all the items were put away, RY-N, PTR, and Ash all sat on the couch to watch the next wrestling match between an Appoplexian and a Pyronite. Dusty and NTL-E returned to their conversation, while LN-R and Pearl talked and cooked in the kitchen.

Just as the match was getting heated, RY-N heard rock music faintly playing from upstairs. He turned his head to look at the stairs and saw picture frames shaking due to the vibrations caused by the music.

His father noticed this, "Son, what are you doing?"

"He's playing music or something," he responded.

"He does that a lot," Ash mentioned. "If it's too loud you can go upstairs and tell him to turn it down."

He sped from the couch and up the stairs to do just that. It wasn't difficult to determine which room was Smokey's once he got up there. The door of his bedroom was covered with stickers from rock bands, some from Earth, others not. This was a little creepy to him because his bedroom door was identical.

He vehemently knocked on the door and impatiently waited. The music stopped, but the door didn't open and his patience was wearing thin. He was about to knock again when the door opened.

"What do you want?" Smokey asked bitterly.

"Can turn down your music?" he requested, trying to be polite.

He didn't buy it and saw right through his weak attempt. It was something he'd seen many times before, but wasn't going to let him know this.

He mimicked his demeanor when he replied, "Yeah, I will, no problem. If that's all you need..." he closed his door.

'Jeez, what a grouch,' he thought as he went back downstairs.

The song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day could be faintly heard even downstairs. Though it was just barely noticeable due to it being a much softer song tune than the other one he played earlier.

In his room, he sat on his bed with his legs crossed and his head down. He was sobbing and his tears dripped down from his eyes and soaked into the sheets.

"This is going to be the worst time of my life," he uttered, his sobbing interfering with his voice as he said it.

V-V-V~0-O-0~V-V-V

(A/N: Sorry if this is a little short, but I've got a lot of stuff coming up pretty soon. This is the shortest chapter I've written in a long time, but like I said I'm going to be super busy. I'm not kidding, things are going to be a bit slow in March because I have so many tests coming up and I have to prepare for them.

In case you guys are wondering, RY-N is pronounced the same way as "Ryan", "NTL-E" is pronounced the same way as "Natalie", LN-R is pronounced the same way as "Eleanor", and PTR is pronounced the same way as "Peter". There is a reason for the names of the boys family, it won't be explained until later though.

I hope you guys like this and please let me know what you think. Please nothing negative, I already have a lot on my mind.)